From the walk a friend and I took yesterday.
Weather was absolutely gorgeous, nice and warm with a gentle to stiff breeze for those cooling off moments. 7.1 miles according to the GPS. Took us around 3 hours. A bit of a dawdle really and there's plenty to see.
Stanton Moor wasn't as busy I expected, Harthill Moor was however, as it was full of organised schools walk, so crammed with teenagers who were all carrying so much kit (80L+ packs) I thought they'd brought the school with them. Stanton Moor was a little easy as it's a level plateau, Harthill moor and the surroundings was more challenging as the terrain is more varied. A good walk though and not a bad one for anyone wanting some long views and quite a few interesting things to see.
We start at Birchover Village (SK 23793 62165) which is a bit painful to park in, but has a shop and two pubs (which is always welcome). As this walk was in two halves we decided to do the Eastern part first, which takes us to Stanton Moor.
After walking along a road we entered the moor at SK24545 62528 next to an active quarry. Stanton Moor has many many un-marked paths so it's a bit of a challenge navigating. We took the obvious route up and then headed west towards the Cork Stone. Obviously this been used for climbing up for years, we didn't attempt it, but plenty have!
From here we took the Northern path where you can see a cairn and trig point (323) to the right. Partway up this path is the worlds most laid back tree (tm) and a dis-used quarry to the left. Eventually you come to the edge of the moor and head East to the Nine Ladies stone circle. There's plenty of active quarrying but thankfully not near the stone circle itself. After tutting about using an ancient monument as a back rest and sun trap we headed south past the watch tower, which was sadly bricked up we couldn't go inside. A quick pit stop later on a bluff overlooking Darley Dale and Rowsley we headed back to the car for a proper refuelling.
We then headed West towards Harthill Moor and the less well known and unnamed stone circle. For this you head west out of Birchover and eventually join the Lime Stone Way at SK 22848 61840. The route is fairly obvious and you head north/nor west passing Robins Hood Stride and the Hermit Cave (a nice place for a snack, which we made use of the return).
You then approach the stone circle which does require straying from the path but is worth the diversion as these stones are much bigger than the Nine Ladies (even if most of them are now sadly missing).
Rejoing the Limestone way we followed a route around the back of Harthill Moor Farm to see the Castle Ring. This is mainly out of bounds (with many helpful signs from the farmer letting you know this), the only things to see are the defensive ditch and a dry stone wall where the original pallisade would have stood.
Then it's a gentle amble through a nice bluebell wood (lots out as well) to re-trace the route back to Birchover.
A nice and not overly challenging walk. We even got called speeders by some of the other groups out, but as we sat back at the car drinking tea (to many envious glancers and comments from the other walkers) it was worth it.
Oh and yes... I'm sure in a few weeks my neck won't resemble a red ferrari and give off less heat than a fire. Next time SPF 15 will not be far away.
Enjoy the pictures.
© Dazza